Stroudsburg church buys former Shawnee Academy for $1.2M

Light of the World congregants 'open to options' with former Shawnee Academy's large campus

The Shawnee Academy has sat vacant for three years.

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By CHRISTINA TATU

poconorecord.com

By CHRISTINA TATU

Posted Jul. 1, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By CHRISTINA TATU

Posted Jul. 1, 2014 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

The Shawnee Academy has sat vacant for three years.

The 39-acre property is overgrown with weeds, its former classrooms, gymnasium and living facilities for troubled youth going to waste.

That's about to change.

The Rev. Angelo Pierri has a vision.

"We've been looking for nine or 10 years. We've seen a lot of buildings and land," Pierri said. "God had us in a waiting period. We could have jumped and bought something else."

Instead, Light of the World Church, now in a 5,000-square-foot space on Ann Street, Stroudsburg, will make the former academy its new home. The church purchased the property for about $1.2 million earlier this month, according to property records.

The church's leaders would meet and pray about each property they visited, but "we always got a closed door," Pierri said.

With the Shawnee Academy, "God was able to confirm His will to our hearts," said Associate Pastor Bob Morales.

The church, which Pierri says has several hundred members, plans to move in at the end of August.

The Shawnee Academy was built in 1986 and opened in 2004 as an alternative school for 140 students.

It operated as a residential treatment facility and included the Beacon School, a private academic day school, until April 2011, when it closed its doors due to declining student enrollment and increasing costs.

Last year, the property was purchased by Tydd Rohrbough, owner of Cornhusker Energy Lexington LLC, a Nebraska-based biofuel plant. Rohrbough purchased the property for $357,500 at an auction in July 2013. In January, Rohrbough listed the property for $1.5 million.

The parcel includes a 25,068-square-foot multi-purpose building featuring office space, a dining room, commercial kitchen, two dormitory wings, maintenance garage and loading dock.

There are also 5,472-square-foot and 7,372-square-foot classroom buildings; a 2,450-square-foot dormitory and a 13,139-square-foot gymnasium.

A playground, two baseball fields and the bonus of bordering the Delaware River means there will be opportunities for a lot of outdoor activities.

Light of the World Church started as a prayer group in a friend's basement in 1999, Pierri said.

The church then moved to the Ramada Inn in Delaware Water Gap, where eight members would meet on a weekly basis.

About nine years ago, the church began leasing space in a building behind the American Ribbon & Craft Outlet on Ann Street, Stroudsburg.

Parishioners have been giving money to the organization from the very beginning. It was through these donations the church was able to save for a down payment for a new building, Pierri said.

The church started a "Phase I Campaign" to raise money for painting, cleaning, landscaping and other work necessary to prepare the campus.

The goal was to raise $79,000. Six week later, parishioners have raised about $65,000.

"God has sent us good people," Pierri said.

Initial plans for the property include turning the gymnasium into the main sanctuary.

There are four big rooms behind the gym, which will be used to house various youth groups and a prayer room. The building used as the former Beacon School will be used for children's programs and a children's ministry.

The multi-purpose building, which includes the cafeteria, will be known as "the lodge," and will be used as the main fellowship area where parishioners can gather for lunch and coffee after services.

The cafeteria has a fully functional commercial kitchen. Pierri hopes to eventually host a soup kitchen there.

The administrative portion of the building will continue to be office space.

Pierri isn't yet sure what will become of the student housing portion of the building.

There are 38 dormitory-style rooms, each with its own personal bathroom.

When asked if the church may one day use it to provide shelter, Pierri says church leaders continue to pray about the best use for the property.

"We are open to a lot of options right now," he said. "Little by little, we aren't going to use everything at once."

For information on Light of the World Church, call 570-420-8170 or visit lwcpa.org.